Car Review: 2001 Audi A6 2.7T

2001 Audi A6

Handout, Audi

by
Brian Harper, Canwest News Service | August 10, 2011

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Subtle. This is the word that briefly, but accurately, sums up the attributes that can be ascribed to the A6 2.7T, Audi’s premium luxury sedan. It’s a good word, I think, although slightly enigmatic in its meaning, demanding further explanation – much like the car itself.

To understand the subtlety of the A6, it’s important to remember that less than a decade ago, the upscale division of Volkswagen held about as much appeal to consumers as current season’s tickets to les Canadiens. Audi was much more of a second-tier luxury car maker back then, with product that was less than ideal for the North American market. It was losing ground to both Mercedes and BMW and was being challenged by the upstart luxury Japanese brands. Since then, the company has clawed its way back, first with the volume-oriented, compact A4, then the technologically superior A8 flagship, and the mid-sized A6. The company has also gained attention and kudos for its stylistically polarizing TT coupe and roadster. But it’s not enough.

Wanting the same respect and acknowledgement as a first-tier European luxury carmaker, Audi is filling in the gaps in its lineup with niche products (such as the allroad), and tightening up its core products. For the 2001 model year, the company addressed the one true weakness of its A6 sedan; its paucity of power. The base 200 horsepower, 2.8-litre DOHC V6 was, and is, a wimp, especially when trying to motivate the A6’s 1,740-kilogram weight. The solution: not one, but two, high-performance engines.

If horsepower is the game, then the A6 4.2 is your steed. The 40-valve, 4.2-litre DOHC V8, taken from the larger A8, has 300 horsepower to use. The sportier, quicker model, though – and about $12,500 less – is the 2.7 T. It shares the same 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 as the S4 sport sedan (a much enhanced A4); 250 hp fed to the quattro all-wheel drivetrain with a choice of either a six-speed manual transmission or five-speed Tiptronic manu-matic.

In 2.7T form, the $58,455 A6 is no frenetic sport sedan. The power never comes on with a jolt. Two small turbos respond to the firmness of the right foot – spooling up quickly and quietly when acceleration is called for, yet completely unobtrusive when noodling about in city traffic. Zero to 100 kilometres an hour can be achieved in 7.7 seconds with the six-speed gearbox, which is thoroughly competent considering the Audi’s weight. The engine shines brighter in its 80-120 km/h passing time of 5.3 seconds. (An automatic-equipped 2.7T would be several ticks slower)

While some car manufacturers are moving to edgier styling forms, with pronounced creases and folds in the sheet metal, Audi retains a fluid, rounded and generally unobtrusive shape for its sedans. From the flush-mounted bumpers to the sweeping roofline, there is little to interrupt the A6’s lines. It slips through the air with a wind-cheating 0.28 drag coefficient. Even at highly illegal speeds, there is next to no external noise.

It is hard to beat the A6 2.7T’s connection with the road. The sedan’s four-link front, double A-arm rear suspension is more than up to the challenge of Southern Ontario’s pothole-strewn roads. The suspension settings are on the firm side, as is typical of any German sedan, yet ride comfort is not sacrificed. There is little body roll in tight corners. And the quattro system hugs the tarmac like a long-lost love.

The steering, while not at the same level of precision as a BMW 5-Series, is well-weighted and communicative. If you simply have to have the optimum set-up for attacking twisty roads, $1,400 gets you the Sport package, which provides high-performance rubber, a lowered body and significantly stiffer springs and shocks.

The only genuine disappointment in the Audi’s performance dynamic was the brakes. The tester, I was told, had been sitting outside for several weeks, and had not been driven. Some corrosion had built on the brake rotors and when I first applied them, it felt as though the car was going to shake apart. After several days, most of the rust had been ground off by the brake pads, but the rotors never felt completely clean and vibration free. For what it’s worth, testing by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada shows that the 2.7T will stop from 100 kilometres an hour in a short 40.8 metres.

Any car capable of running Germany’s autobahn at high speeds carries a full complement of safety devices, and the A6 2.7T is no exception. Standard on the car are dual forward and side air bags, plus inflatable Sideguard curtain air bags. In the event of a collision, Sideguard covers the entire side window area and protects the heads of all passengers in the front or outside rear seats. Rear seat side air bags are a $490 option.

The subtlety of the A6’s exterior styling is carried forward into the passenger cabin. For several years, Audi has allowed buyers the opportunity to select an interior environment (called “atmospheres”) for their cars to match their own personal styles. Each of the three atmospheres provides a different character, distinguished by the texture and appearance of the seat upholstery, the colour and type of the wood and aluminum trim. The tester was fitted in “Advance”, a “natural” environment with silk-matte walnut wood trim and soft upholstery in earth tones. Along with the heated seats (part of the Cold Weather package) and the leather (part of the Preferred Luxury package), the A6’s cabin is as comfortable and pleasant a place to while away hours in traffic as any other luxury car out there.

Although the tester was saddled with just about every major option in Audi’s catalogue (save the Sport package), inflating the 2.7T’s competitive base price by almost $11,000, the additional features detracted not one iota from the A6’s core goodness – probably the best mid-sized premium sedan not to wear a Mercedes or BMW nameplate. If there is a fault to this quick, quiet and luxurious transport, it’s that it blends in too much with less expensive cars.